大学英语精读 College English Book One

Unit Two  Related information  Prereading questions  New words and phrases  Language points

Related information  Many people have travelled round the world, but no one else has done it the way Sir Francis Chichester did. He travelled round the world alone in a small yacht called the “ Gipsy Moth IV ” in spite of the fact that he had lung cancer.  The text tells us briefly what happened to him on his voyage, one of the greatest seafaring exploits of all time. To begin with, let ’ s draw a map of Chichester ’ s course.

Prereading questions 1. Who was Francis Chichester? ( He was a British adventurer.) 2. What did he do in 1931? ( He tried to fly around the world,but failed.) 3. What was his life-long dream? ( It was to sail round the world alone.) 4. What was the route he followed? ( He followed the route of the 19 th century clipper ships)

New words and phrases single-handed --done by one person without help from others Examples: In the end he had to man the ship single- handed.

Adventure  An exciting and /or dangerous journey or activity; strange or unusual happening Examples: Every journey outside the house is an adventure to the baby.

fail  (vi.) be unsuccessful;become weak or exhausted Examples: She failed in everything she tried.

(vt.) unable to do sth;disappoint  Examples: Jim failed to pass the final exam. The test is easy. You simply can ’ t fail it.

determined  With one ’ s mind firmly made up  Examples: He is determined that his child will not lead a poor life. She is a determined woman and has brought up her children single-handed.

retire  (1) give up one ’ s job because of old age Examples: Professors usually retire at 60 in China.

(2) Go away; withdraw  Examples: Each side retired 15 miles from the frontier.

(3) Go to bed  Examples: The writer usually retires at midnight.

device  Something made for a special purpose  Examples: Hunters use different devices to trap different animals.

cover  Pass over or travel ( a certain distance)  Examples: The travellers covered 400 miles a day by car.

previously  Before  Examples: We planned previously to visit the Museum, but we simply do not have the time.

attempt  (n.) effort to do sth  Examples: A true friend will make every attempt to help you.

(vt.) try to do sth  Examples: He attempted to win her love by sending her expensive gifts.

fortunately  Luckily  Examples: Fortunately Matthew caught the train.

nearby  Not far off( used either as an adjective or an adverb)  Examples: My son studied at a nearby school. There is a school nearby.

very  ( used for emphasis) same; identical  Examples: You are the very man I want to see. At that very moment that bomb went off.

accomplish  Finish successfully  Examples: Women can accomplish anything men can do.

conquer  Defeat; overcome  Examples: It is very hard to conquer bad habits.

Give up  Stop having or doing; abandon hope for sth, or the attempt to do sth  Examples: You ’ d better give up smoking. His pulse was so weak that the doctor gave him up for dead.

Carry out  Complete or fulfil( one ’ s promise, plan,etc.)  Examples: She carried out well the tasks assigned her.

Set off  Begin a journey;start  Examples: We set off at dawn. to set off for a place

In spite of  Regardless of  Examples: The children went to school in spite of the storm.

Turn over  Reverse in position by bringing the bottom to the top or vice versa  Examples: A big wave turned the boat over The lamp was turned over, and that was what started the fire.

By far  By a large degree  Examples: This is by far the better of the two. She is by the best girl in the class.

Language points  Chichester followed the route of the greatest nineteenth century clipper ships: --- Chichester sailed along the route by which the great clipper ships in the nineteenth century sailed.

He did not listen  He did not pay any attention (or : He was not influenced by ) what others said.

Dissuade sb. From doing sth  Prevent sb from doing sth. by giving reasons  Examples: They dissuaded her from leaving school.

In doing so, he had undoubtedly learnt something about himself.  In experiencing fear and conquering it, he had undoubtedly learned a great deal about his own strengths and weakness when face with anticipate and unanticipated hardships  Undoubtedly: certainly  Examples: Undoubtedly this play is a great success.